


Coping Mechanisms

by Dont_Fold_Corners



Category: Smosh
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-06-01
Updated: 2019-08-15
Packaged: 2020-04-06 05:44:36
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 16,407
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19056400
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dont_Fold_Corners/pseuds/Dont_Fold_Corners
Summary: Due to the downfall of Deify Media, everyone working at Smosh was made redundant. The whole cast was struggling to deal with the newfound, less than ideal situation so in the heat of the moment, at the party held at the smosh office (before they were evicted); an unlikely pair get together.They were both desperate for familiarity.They were both in the right place at the right time.They were both completely clueless about the chaotic chain of events that were to follow.It Turns out- for Shayne at least- the next month was gonna get a whole lot harder to cope with than he initially thought...--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------So this is basically a self indulgent shourtney fic i wrote instead of revising( This is my first time writing a fic so please go easy on me.)





	1. Bad News

**Author's Note:**

> References I make such as dates and facts to do with what went down with Defy Media and the situation as a whole may be inaccurate however, this is a piece of fiction after all, so I don't feel I have to be overly factually accurate. 
> 
>  
> 
> Apart from that small disclaimer- I hope you enjoy the first chapter!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ( Just a reminder that each chapter title is a song that follows the theme/content of said chapter)  
> This chapter: Bad News- Bastille

**(Smosh Offices)**

 

 

Courtney, Ian, Noah, Keith and Olivia were carrying out business as usual. To be exact: they were at one of their routine writers meetings at which they would all collectively rack their brains for video ideas until they settled on one that they were happy to script for. Shayne was excused from work today as he was needed to shoot for _Americas number one comedy_ \- The Goldbergs. Sure Shayne had a knack for suggesting the most ludicrous sketch ideas, but the rest of the squad were equally as talented and didn't falter in their ability to pump out ideas one after the other without him. It was one of those golden meetings where the groups creative juices were flowing like Niagara falls. " How about Every political leader ever? " Noah offered. 

" Its a good idea buuut it's a touchy subject" Ian responded, jotting it down regardless. They could maybe save it for later if they were struggling with content.

" Y'all know... we could always make a squeal to every bird ever" They all turned to look at Keith with a look of pure horror plastered onto their face and hence put and end to that suggestion immediately.

After a solid five minutes of tossing ideas back and forth Courtney placed her hands atop the table and leaned forward dramatically " Okay guys. Hear me out... Every Dominos ever..." The group nodded their heads in agreement as Ian furiously started scrawling down notes onto his pad-that was-until he was interrupted by a rather serious looking Matt Raub bursting through the door of the office. 

" Sorry to interrupt everyone- Ian. Can I talk to you for a sec?" The man in question got up from his seat, rightly baffled by the sudden appearance of this co-worker, and proceeded to exit the room. The squad attempted to discreetly watch the conversation carry out through thick, sound proof,glass doors but to their dismay, nobody possessed the ability to lip read. Their curiosity only grew more ravenous when Ian and Matt took off down the stars with haste and left them mid-meeting without any explanation. Courtney gave Olivia a wide eyed look to which she responded with a shrug.

" So.. does this mean we get an early lunch break?

* * *

**( Meanwhile at Shanyes house)**

 

 

_God, today had been exhausting. Brilliant but exhausting._

Shayne was currently slipping off his shoes after a full six hour shoot of which he was only needed in two scenes. In total it only added up to five minutes of screen time but for the amount he was paid...he was in no position to complain. He retired to his couch, reclining into the soft fabric and allowing his eyes to droop to a close for a well earnt and long awaited rest.

 < **bring-a-ling-a-ting-manonacanfullofspam! Heya Shayne. I bet you were expecting a pleasant default jingle but instead you have this uber cool customisable ring tone. haha. Smell ya later! >**

He could recognise that voice anywhere. Shayne groaned and got up from the sofa. He totally forgot that him and Damien exchanged their phones yesterday in a pledge to record each other a new ring tone. It seemed like a comedically genius idea at the time but it clearly ended up biting him in the ass. _Oh yeah_ , despite being amused by how irritatingly silly it sounded, his phone was actually ringing and he needed to answer. Shayne rummaged around in his jacket pocket and pulled out the source of the racket, tapping the screen and holding it to his ear." hello?"

" Shayne, thank god you picked up dude-" Speak of the devil. Shayne made a mental note to delete his ringtone later but for now he had to give Damien his full, undivided attention, no matter how tempting his couch looked right now. " I know you've been at the Goldbergs filming studio all day but you really need to come down to the office right now. Defy has collapsed in on itself and took us all down with it. We only have tonight to collect our final pay checks. If it makes you feel any better this is all news to me too- Matt Raub spoke to us at Smosh games a few minutes ago and explained everything."

Shayne propped one hand up against the wall to stabilise himself. " What do you mean _final_ pay checks?" His voice was confused and shaky. He wasn't the kind of guy to resort to full blown, guns blazing panic but this was really beginning to test his calm nature.

"Its over. The channels are locked and members of the crew are already talking of other job opportunities they've been given in the past few months. Ian's been super busy sending out emails since this morning- before the rest of us even found out.

-Don't puke on the camera equipment! Gosh-I have to go help Boze direct her vomit somewhere non-expensive. Try to get down here asap; things are already starting to get pretty wild and I could use some help with crowd control" and with that Damien hung up, leaving Shayne shell shocked and tugging on his shoes as fast as his hands would allow him. 

The (potentially former) Smosh cast member raced to his car and began a nerve-racking hour long drive to his (former) place of work. He would use that car ride to process everything he was just told whilst simultaneously trying not to swerve into a tree. _This was insane_. 

* * *

**(Smosh Offices)**

 

 

By the time Shayne had got in the elevator and reached the fifth floor of the building, where Smosh was mainly located, he could already hear the unmelodic singing to outdated music, shouting and... _crashing_?The heavy metal doors slid apart with a ping to reveal what looked like some sort of angry graduation party. Professionals that he had worked alongside for almost three years were smashing their Defy mugs with prop baseball bats and drinking bottles of booze; they were practically unrecognisable in their current state of delirium. Part of him kinda wanted to join in the last ditch effort of rebellion but he thought better of it. 

 Anyways, He had finally managed to wrap his head around the whole thing on the way here. To conclude- he wasn't too worried. Whatever happened to that place didn't matter...as long as the squad was together and had a working camera, Smosh was still alive as far as he was concerned. Shayne would be a fool to think that Ian would let his life's work go down the drain over some poxy parent company. He trusted his boss enough to know that the job he loved was going to be waiting for him at the end the confusing grey area they were all in. He just knew it. There was no way all this could end...could it? Shayne wanted to stay composed and positive for everyone's sake, including his own, however he had this unwelcome, forbidding sensation brewing within him that hinted something ominous was to come.

"Hey guys, Shayne's here! whoooo!" Oliva came bounding up to him holding two plastic cups which were sloshing beer all over the shop. This was enough to cause the older male to snap out of his daze and turn to face his long-time friends and colleagues. She offered him one but he put his hand up in decline upon remembering what Damien had said about needing to enlist more volunteers for crowd control. Noah and Keith soon followed suit and approached Shayne with their mouths stretched into a wide toothy grin. It didn't take them long before they were looping their arms over his shoulders to make a bro sandwich. 

" Things are getting pretty rowdy in here and  judging by your lack of surprise I guess Ian told you about Defy?" The youngest of the squad questioned. It was a struggle to hear him over the music but Shayne thought he just about understood.

"No,  actually-Damien did."

" Huh? you savoured a fig?"

" Never mind Noah. God.. I leave you all for one day and this happens" Shayne joked to the other two, that weren't temporarily deaf. To his relief, they laughed, which was a good sign that they were remaining mostly optimistic. 

 _Wait, two?_   He had completely forgotten about his fellow blonde. She was the most enthusiastic member of the squad and never failed to pour her heart and soul into everything she did there. With all this stuff going on, she had totally slipped his mind-

Poor Courtney _…._ this would _crush_ her...

She was probably taking the redundancy just as hard as Ian was, if not more. " Do you guys know where Courtney is? how is she taking it?"

Olivia shared a concerned look with Keith." Well... She seemed pretty unsettled when we all first found out and _crazy_ quiet. I was worried so I asked her if she wanted to talk about it but she kept on telling me she was fine. There was seriously no getting through to her... so I figured it was just best to give her some room to breathe." Oliva sighed sadly.

" Yeah man, last time I saw Court-court was around ten minutes ago, she talked about forgetting her phone on her desk or something like that" Keith added whilst adjusting the rim of his hat. "where you goin' ?"

Shayne had already begun meandering though the large clusters of people littering the room. Courtney would be the first person to throw down at a party so the fact that she was nowhere to be seen was slightly troubling to say the least. He had to remind himself not to blame the others for not checking on her, they were pretty drunk and probably couldn't even see straight enough to recognise her let alone see if she's alright. The open area before the offices were a lot quieter and Shayne was thankful as this allowed him to think. "C'mon Courtney where are you?" Shayne mumbled to himself impatiently. Just as he was about to stop looking and presume she just went home, Shayne caught a glimpse of bobbed blonde hair and pivoted around to face it directly." There you are! jeez Courtney, you're lucky I'm sober enough to -" 

His witty one liner died in his throat as the scene unfurled behind the glass walled office before him. Shayne's' playful grin faltered.   _Damian?_

 

 


	2. Like It's Over

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ( Just a reminder that each chapter title is a song that follows the theme/content of said chapter)  
> This chapter: Like It's Over- Jai Wolf

**( Smosh Office, ten minutes prior to Shaynes arrival.)**

 

 

 

" Gosh darn it, I think I left my phone on my desk-" Courtney lied, rubbing the back of her neck to feign acting casual. By the time it had taken Keith to spin clumsily around on his heel to offer to accompany her, she had already disappeared into the sea of bodies that were thrashing around like fish out of water to the legend of Zelda rap. He tilted his head to the side then turned his attention back to Noah and Olivia who were currently playing beer pong along the receptionists counter. " Something is definitely up with Court-court y'all"

Olivia downed her seventh beer that night and proceeded to use her sleeve to wipe off the frothy moustache resting atop her lip. " I think the best thing to do is give her some space; We are all coping in different ways so we should just let her do her thang"

"Yeah, I guess so." Keith gave Noah a shrug then cheekily snatched a drink from the counter.

 

Courtney squeezed though the crowd of her co-workers. All she wanted to do right then was clear her head and all the commotion from the party certainly wasn't helping. What were they even celebrating anyway? The fact their parent company threw them under the bus? The way half of the crew had walked out today with no intention of ever returning? Or maybe that Smosh might not even exist after tonight... To say that Courtney was overwhelmed was a gigantic understatement.

After what seemed to be the longest trek of her life- she had arrived at the vacant room which contained three main offices that encircled several desks. She skimmed her hand along the surface of her own, the touch of the glossed oak wood proving itself a comfort to her- _I wonder how long it will be before they smash this up too..._

Courtney would go as far as saying that Smosh felt like a second home to her, and it went without saying that the squad felt like one big, albeit dysfunctional, family. The thought of all of this going away pained her to no end. She didn't want them to drift apart and fall out of contact. Perhaps, just  _maybe_ if the whole squad was here she'd feel a bit more reassured as they could've formed a united front in the face of Defys downfall however, the missing piece- Shayne- had unfortunately been away shooting for the Goldbergs all day. _If he was here he'd probably make some stupid joke about the whole situation...then light up the room with that goofy laugh of his._ Now that she thought about it, considering the great side job he had, it would probably be super easy for him to find another acting gig to replace Smosh. _Would he be the first to go?_

 _No_. She didn't even want to entertain the thought of him leaving. _Damn._ _pull yourself together woman..._

Despite her valiant effort to suppress her pessimism throughout the entirety of the day, she was finally consumed by her thoughts. Courtney stepped into the meeting office from earlier to ensure nobody would be able to witness the couple of tears now bowling over her cheeks. Well- apart from Damien who had just appeared in the doorway behind her as if by magic. " Whatcha doin' all the way out here missy? the party's back that way" The brunette joked, sounding a little downcast himself to be honest as he allowed the door to close gently after him. Little did Courtney know, he had come in search of the exact thing she did- a secluded place to expel a moment of despondency from his typically spritely system. A true spanner in the works for both of the smosh members.

" Oh! um... hey Damien! I just fancied some peace and quiet ya know. Everyone was getting pretty riled up in there" She refused to turn around and look at him as she vigorously swiped the cuff of her denim jack across her face to mop up the few tear tracks that were plaguing her soft features.The older male placed a friendly hand on her shoulder and walked forward to stand adjacent to her.

" All that drunken tomfoolery... cant say I blame them but I also cant say that I'd join them." He looked across at Courtney who- to his utter surprise- had apparently been crying, judging by the sniffing and how blood shot her eyes were. Compelled with the urgent need to comfort her, the Smosh games member began " you know Courtney.. I have quite the reputation around here for giving the best hugs." It was hard seeing her like this; she was usually so bubbly and upbeat.  He opened his arms invitingly because, in all honesty, he probably needed this just as much as her.

Courtney, giving Damian a small yet sad smile of gratitude, fell forward into his chest; he could feel the vibrations of her muffled voice as she spoke " Thanks Damien, this is exactly what I needed right now." Damien inhaled deeply. Chances are- Courtney was probably feeling the same way as him in that moment, right? So what was the harm in letting his pent up emotion out too? He trusted Courtney. Sure, they weren't as close as some other members of smosh were, but she was open minded and always seemed to radiate a warmth which made him feel like he could tell her anything without judgement. He paused for a moment.

" I'm terrified Courtney." his voice sounded incredibly small in the acoustics of the office they were in. It took her a second to respond to this as it caught her completely off guard. He was the last person she expected to reciprocate how alone and fearful she felt. Like seriously- _Damien always seemed so carefree..._

" … I am too. More than you can even begin to imagine." _Noah and Keith were practically joined at the hip , Olivia and Sam were dating, Ian was going to be busy fighting legal battles twenty four seven and Shayne and Damian were long time best friends- even before Smosh. That just left her alone._

_She didn't want to be alone._

He gently leant back from the hug and looked down at her with a soft expression of disbelief " Courtney, I'm always gonna be there for you."  Damian chuckled sadly "-You silly goose." He had heard everything she just 'thought' because, as a matter of fact, she accidently said it all aloud whilst being caught up in her own hysteria. She looked directly up at him, half embarrassed and half hopeful as the blonde searched his eyes for any signs of mistruth, but deep down Courtney knew he was a man of his word. It was one of the best things about Damien. He was a sweet guy.

They held each others gaze.

Damien subconsciously craned his neck down to close the distance between their equally stunned faces that looked as though they both couldn't believe what was happening. Courtney involuntarily swallowed at the action. The brunette, running on pure impulse, hesitantly placed his hand on the back of her head, guiding her closer and closer until....

-their lips met. 

_In that moment, they were both desperate for familiarity._

_In that moment, they were both at the right place at the right time._

_In that moment, they were both completely unaware of the chaos that was going to ensue from this._

* * *

**( Smosh office, present )**

 

 

 

_Damien?...Damien and **Courtney** of all people?!_

Shayne stood in a state of shell shock. His agape mouth ran dry as he combed a hand apprehensively through his blonde, side swept hair.  He swore he hadn't had anything to drink so he definitely wasn't drugged and hallucinating. This was real. His best friend and his- his....who was Courtney to him exactly?

She was way more than just a colleague but then again, he didn't feel right referring to her as a sister type figure- but that wasn't the problem here, _no_ , the _problem_ was that they were violating the terms and agreement of working under Smosh. It was objectively unfair and that was **definitely** the **only** reason why Shayne disapproved of them getting together (probably). When they first were officially hired for the position, the whole squad was told that they weren't allowed to have intermate relations with each other as it would affect and/or potentially ruin their working relationship. It would jeopardise everything they worked so hard to achieve as a group of professional actors. As dating someone was clearly not an option for Shayne in his work environment- any romantic feelings he may or may not have had for _certain members_ of the squad had to be, with a lot of practice, ignored and repressed deep within the confines of his mind. He reminded himself on numerous occasions that they most likely weren't authentic feelings of attraction but instead false emotions that were provoked by his dedication to the characters he played. 

So based on this information; he should've felt happy for them. It would've been the right thing to do. He literally didn't have any reason not to seeing as smosh was burning to the ground along with its previous rules. However, something about them made his skin crawl with fire and his nails sink into the soft underside of his hands.

Now, Shayne was described on many occasions as a pretty decent dude with a great sense of humour. At his core he was believed to be quite humble and sweet, like a weird humanised melt in the middle pudding. So overall, Shayne was a pretty chill guy-but right in that moment the little devil on his shoulder was stabbing him repeatedly in the neck with his tiny pitchfork and he'd officially had enough. In a surge of frustration Shayne struck the wall beside him with his fist, leaving a generous sized hole in its wake. Surprisingly he came out of it relatively unscathed but also completely screwed. Courtney and Damian briskly pushed away from one another as their heads snapped to face the direction of the large thud they'd just heard. They looked like deer in headlights. " Er- Hello?" Damian called out nervously, opening the door to the office in order to scout out the area. Luckily for Shayne, his fast reaction time allowed him to drop down out of their line of sight and crawl across the carpet behind the safety of the desks. That was the most nerve racking thing he'd ever done and that said a lot since anxiety came hand in hand with his profession. Reaching the next room where the budget mosh pit was, Shayne exhaled deeply. That was far too close for his liking.

"Whoah, are you feeling alright Shayne? you look like you've just witnessed a mass murder." Mari teased, resting her arm on Shaynes shoulder. From their close proximity the blonde was able to catch a whiff of the rich scent of alcohol emitting from her,  _that's gonna be one hell of a hang over_ \- Is what he would've remarked if his mind wasn't consumed with a million thoughts and feelings stemming from the events that occurred less than a minute ago. There was no way he could stay here in his current state. For Christs sake- he had just punched a goddam wall! The adrenaline from the extremely out of character outburst was still coursing through his veins, so he took that as an opportunity to aid him in creating a hopefully semi-believable cover story.

" Yeah, I don't know-" he grinned down at the carpet beneath him and charismatically shook his head "I ate this funny looking kabab for lunch which I was pretty sure had some kind of mystery meat in it. So long story short- I _really_ need to go. Enjoy the rest of the party though!" He forced out a hearty laugh, although the uneasy look in his eyes told a whole other story. Without sticking around to hear if she bought his blatant lie, he shouldered his way through the makeshift dance floor to the elevator. Shayne had yet another excruciating hour long journey ahead of him and on top of that he had even more crap to wrap his head around.

The cast member sighed, buckling himself into his Honda Civic. He shut his eyes as he lowered his forehead to the steering wheel. _Pull yourself together Shayne._  

 


	3. Nervous

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ( Just a reminder that each chapter title is a song that follows the theme/content of said chapter)  
> This chapter: Nervous - The Neighbourhood

**( The following day, Shaynes apartment)**

 

The sleeping male was stirred awake by a monotonous beeping noise that permeated his room. Limbs heavy with lingering fatigue from the previous day, Shayne blindly casted his arm outwards in hope of hitting the snooze button. Mission accomplished. The room once again fell into undisturbed silence as Shayne slowly emerged from the cold sheets that engulfed him like a fabricy taco. He groaned, voice raspy from his slumber as he roughly carded a hand through his unkempt hair. _What time was it?_

Through blurred vision he squinted to read the time being flashed by his digital alarm clock. _Christ, it was already eleven_. " Shoot! Ian's going to kill me-" With a slight panic setting in about having to show up to work three hours late, Shayne flung the covers off his body in one grand gesture and scooted himself to the edge of the bed to slip on some boots. He didn't have the energy to change for bed last night which now fortunately worked in his favour. Just as he was about to get up and speed to work; it hit him.

" Oh shit... that's right" he flopped back down upon his bed defeatedly. The mattress hugged his muscular frame as he sunk further into wrinkled sheets. There was literally no work to go to. He threw an arm across his face and let out a long, drawn out sigh. _I wonder how the others are doing_. Shayne reached over to his bedside table and grabbed his phone, propping himself up on his elbow.

**< 1 New Message>**

He tapped on the smosh squad group chat which opened up to the most recent text.

**From: [Papa Ian] On: [Smosh squad group chat]**

**< Good morning guys, hope you're all not too hungover from last nights "festivities". Now-I know you're all probably freaking out right now and want answers but I cant disclose any information regarding Defy to you all until the legal battles are over. Rest assured that i'm doing EVERYTHING in my power to save our company. It may be selfish of me to ask and I know you guys probably wouldn't anyway but please give me some time to fight before you look into other jobs, I understand a lot of our co-workers and friends are abandoning ship in the midst of all this but if us and the remnants of our crew stick together then I really think we stand a chance at making a comeback. So to summarise; the orders for now is to try not to stress, not to post anything to do with our situation on social media and hang tight. I'll keep you all updated on what I can. Stay strong squad.>**

It all seemed so surreal. The position they were in was terrifying-being forced into taking a social media hiatus even though that was the foundation of their careers. Shayne felt completely and utterly powerless; there was nothing he could do. Plus with no job to occupy himself he had no distraction- that was until he heard a little ping emit from his phone.

**From: [Noah G]**

**< Hey Shayne, just wondering if you were free later as me, Keith, Olivia and Courtney are all going to grab some lunch at McDonalds ( the one just down the road from my place). We figured it would be the cheapest option as we don't exactly have a stable source of income at the moment. We're meeting at 1:00pm so let me know if you can make it dude.>**

Shayne rubbed sleet from his eyes with one hand as the other typed out a response. He had nothing better to do plus he also had an unrelenting itch to see Courtney, especially after what he witnessed last night. Recalling the image of them together caused Shayne to subconsciously throw his head back onto his pillow whilst running a hand down his face in one languid motion.

**To: [Noah G]**

**< Sounds great. I think a cheat day is exactly what I need right now so I'll see you there.>**

Now he just needed to figure out what on earth to do with himself until then.

 

* * *

 

**(McDonalds, 1:15pm)**

 

 

Courtney cupped her hands together against the large front facing widow of the fast food restaurant to shade her vision from the overbearing sun that blinded her to the extent where she almost walked into a lamppost on her way there. Still, It almost seemed disrespectful to have had such nice weather in the wake of, what effectively felt like, loosing her job. _Screw that insensitive flaming ball of gas_ -She mentally scorned whilst scanning the seating area for signs of her friends. _Ah! there they are_. The blonde entered the building and approached the cashier with a small smile, two dollars already in hand to purchase a lunch fit for a tight budget.

Courtney, being the playful soul she was, snuck up behind the booth that Shayne and Olivia where seated on ( making sure to send a 'shush' gesture to Noah and Keith who had clocked what she was up to) and proceeded to slam her hands down on both of their shoulders "Hoo-hoo!" she sang, earning a satisfactory yelp from Olivia and a startled jolt from Shayne.

" _Oh my god_ -Don't do that! It could've been my second heart attack in the space of twenty four hours." Olivia reprimanded fondly.

" Tell me about it" Keith added with a small chuckle.

She had to admit- just being in the squads presence managed to temporarily ease all the anxiety and worry churning around in the pit of her stomach. These guys were always the best medicine for when she was feeling down, but then again, they all must be a little down at the moment. She turned her attention to Shayne mid-laugh as she took the seat opposite him. " You good buddy or did you just get spooked too hard?"  The other blonde looked as though he'd seen a ghost. His hands were knitted together tightly which kind of reminded Courtney of a nervous news anchor on the first day of their job. This imagery only caused her to laugh harder.

" Hmm? _oh_ \- yeah you almost toppled my colossal mound of nugs you psycho." Upon saying that, Shayne gestured to a carefully crafted pyramid of chicken nuggets balanced precariously on a serviette. She didn't know whether to be impressed or just impulsively knock over his masterpiece. _Nah, hes been through enough already. They all had._

It was almost as if nothing had happened. Courtney felt so incredibly stupid for thinking, even for a second, that these wonderful human beings would just up and leave. After all, they weren't nicknamed the smosh _fam_ for nothing. She let out a long sigh of relief as this was perfect clarification that she needn't worry. The rest of the group looked at her wearing a shared baffled expression.

"I'm just glad we're all here. That's all." She answered simply to their unspoken question. They all seemed to silently understand where she was coming from as they all looked around at each other with an affection that had been growing in intensity ever since they first banded together. The connection between them could be physically felt by each an every member in that singular moment of solidarity. It kind of felt like they were knock-off power rangers.

" You know, I'm certain we'll find a way to continue what we're doing since it would _literally_ be a crime against the entertainment industry to split us up" Noah interjected. Keith chuckled at this and tossed an arm around his shoulders, pulling him into a side hug.

" Damn right, and that's without the uproar we'd receive from the fans-"

Whilst the majority of the squad was laughing along with Noah as he discussed and partially re-enacted their drunken antics from last nights party, Courtney couldn't help but notice Shayne looked totally derailed at the mention of said party.

He was doing that thing he did when he got too into his own head; looking down at the table with a painfully artificial smile, whilst occasionally offering an anecdote to create the illusion that he was present and engaged when in fact he was a million miles away. Don't get him wrong, It wasn't as though he enjoyed tricking people into thinking he was listening, it was just a politer alternative to just straight up zoning out during a conversation. _Seriously, what the heck is wrong with you dumbass?-_   Shayne scolded himself, reliving the whole Damien and Courtney thing again. Quite frankly it was none of his business so he didn't see why his brain kept on reverting back to that same scene over and over again just to toy with him.

Unaware of the internalised argument Shayne was having with himself, Courtney, now looking at him with complete and utter puzzlement, observed as Shayne's fist clenched and unclenched around his bottle of water which was causing the level of liquid to shoot up and then seconds later plummet down with a rather loud swashing sound. The action was strangely hypnotic but Courtney didn't allow herself to get distracted. During her visual analysis of the older males strange behaviour, her eyes fixated on something she'd previously failed to notice; Shanes knuckles were littered with blueish-purple bruises. _Did he get in a fight or something?_ Her expression transitioned into one of concern as she instinctively reached forward to lightly grab at his wrist. At her touch, Shayne slowly loosened his vice-like grip around his drink and snapped his attention to his hand which was suspended slightly off the table by none other than the source of his anguish; Courtney.

The older males steel blue eyes flicked up to greet hers as he was yanked out of his train of thought- quite literally." Sorry, did you say something?"

Courtney's eyes widened in disbelief at how totally disconnected Shayne was. She hadn't seen him this distant since he broke up with his girlfriend a couple years back. " Well-no but you were in the process of remorselessly crushing your water bottle so I thought I'd better intervene before you got too carried away"

Shayne spared a moment to glance down at the crumpled plastic container and comedically grimaced. " Damn, I knew I shouldn't've cancelled that gym sesh yesterday. Muscle memory must be staring to kick in and I suspect it wont be long until I'm subconsciously bench pressing Ronald McDonald." The attempt at a light-hearted pleasantry went straight over Courtney's head. This set a more serious tone to their conversation- one that they were both not at all used to when interacting with solely each other.

The blonde suggestively alternated her gaze back and forth between Shayne's eyes and his blemish riddled knuckles. This caused him to defensively withdraw his wrist back from Courtney's loose hold to a more sheltered position on his lap.  _Crap, he had totally forgotten about fisting a crater into that wall- did she know he was there? that he was the source of the giant crashing sound from last night? Godammit- pulling away only made him appear more suspicious._  

Lucky for him Courtney didn't put two and two together. She double checked that the rest of the squad members were still engrossed in whatever nonsense Noah was spewing before speaking " You do know you can talk to me if something's playing on your mind, right?" her eyes struggled to maintain contact with Shayne's as she awaited his response. Something about getting personal with Shayne on a one to one basis always seemed to unnerve her. The guy was unpredictable- so complicated that even if he did decide open up to her she probably wouldn't understand. But that didn't mean that she didn't want to help in any way she could. 

"Uh-yeah, yes of course." He responded as laid back as he could muster, thrown a little off balance by the unanticipated question. Deep down they both knew the answer to it wasn't entirely truthful. Sure, they had brilliant chemistry on camera and off camera alike, but when it came down to taking about the heavy stuff...communication became a massive issue for them. It was crazy how they manged to be the _most compatible and entertaining_ yet _least closest_ members of the group, although, that was probably due to lack of practice. From the beginning Shaynes go-to therapist was Damien in the same way Olivia was for Courtney. Whenever things threatened to turn emotional when they were alone, which was hardly ever, it felt like they were treading on egg shells. It was terrifying for both parties so they both, without really realising it, wordlessly vowed never to let their walls down around each other. And this scenario was no different even though a severely neglected part of Shayne nagged him to confront her about what happened.

" Anyways, this is my cue to go grab an apple pie before Noah ropes me in to another one of his lectures. " Shayne remarked after his stomach produced an inhuman gurgling sound that was loud enough for the family sitting adjacent to them to turn their heads in alarm. 

" Count me in to" Courtney chirped, willing to help Shayne change the subject as she sprung up to her feet. She stuffed her hand unceremoniously into the back pocket of her jeans and pulled out a motherload of fifty cents, then looked up at Shayne with the cheesiest smile she could physically produce. " Also-donations would be greatly appreciated." At this Shayne rolled his eyes theatrically and began to take out his wallet.

" You're lucky I do charity work."

 


	4. I'll Be There For You

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ( Just a reminder that each chapter title is a song that follows the theme/content of said chapter)  
> This chapter: I'll Be There For You- The Rembrandits

 

* * *

**(Shayne's apartment)**

 

Clacking from a joystick hitting the body of a controller alongside the occasional Hyperbolic sound effects produced by little pixelated characters frolicking within the tv screen filled the entirety of the single story home. 

This is what served as Shayne's post-Defy pass time. The essence of the game was simple: All he had to do was focus on beating the hell out of innocent woodland creatures -nothing else. It should've felt like a luxury to him- having some quality alone time that is. To anyone with a brain cell count greater than three, it would've seemed like a good idea to take a breather from the high energy, physically demanding job he had. However, to him, this was torture. A painstakingly slow, agonising _torture_.

It had been three days since Defy Medias shut down. Seventy two hours since the after-party thrown at the office. And a couple of days since Shayne had spoken to anyone in the Smosh squad (Excluding Ian who had sent out an email the night prior. He was arranging to rally the troupes the following day to film a video which would hopefully tide over their loyal fanbase until smosh was running smoothly again). _That was providing Smosh would be running at all._

Nobody had bothered to reach out to each other after their get-together at McDonalds. The initial whiplash of the redundancy ordeal was still very much present and affecting each respective member of the company in their own unique way. For Shayne, this just so happened to be experiencing a twisted variation of PTSD that had derived from catching his two friends try their hand at a match of tonsil tennis. To make things worse; try combining that with borderline unemployment provoked depressive episodes. Not even his beloved psychology studies could help him figure out what the hell was going on upstairs.

Just thinking about it made his lungs deflate with a profound sigh. Shayne slumped back into the self-forged sofa dent that was tailored to his torso from his prolonged state of dormancy. He checked the time. He had a few free hours to himself before he needed to start making his way over to Ian's place. _I guess one more round wouldn't hurt..._ and with that, the blonde picked up where he left off, soaring through the video game with carefully calculated manoeuvres and attacks.

Maintaining a positive mindset was key. To put it lightly-If he kept on mulling over stuff he had no control over, Shayne knew he'd probably be driven to insanity. Not to mention, he'd bet his entire collection of snapbacks that psyche-ward Shayne certainly wouldn't be viewer friendly for their impressionable teen audience. Although it was true that his slight introverted nature was grateful for the down-time he had to recharge from his manic social lifestyle, at the same time he also thrived off of his work which meant, understandably, not being able to do the thing he enjoyed the most with the people he loved the most (for this amount of time) was killing him. The only comparable sensation to what he was experiencing was home sickness. Look, He knew it was sappy, okay? but he honestly couldn't wait to see Ian, Noah, Olivia, Keith and...Courtney again. It felt like he was missing a limb. The ragtag group of misfits, he was so privileged to be apart of, were like an extension of himself he couldn't live without.

That also reminded him to ask if Damien wanted to hang out sometime in the near future. Despite how he felt regarding his previous behaviour, they were still best friends and he wasn't about to let whatever meaningless phase Damien was going through ruin years of undisturbed friendship. They were too close to let something as trivial as a _kiss_ come between them. His eyes, once again, trailed off to the clock. The hands had hardly budged since the last time he checked. One minute down, only a hundred and eighty to go

* * *

 

**(Ian's house)**

 

 

The exterior was somewhat comparable to a Spanish villa and was undisputedly worth more than what she could ever dream to afford. He deserved it though, the man was hardworking to the extent where it could be considered an addiction. Courtney was greeted at the door by Ian who gave her a firm, reassuring hug. No pleasantry's were exchanged between them as they were both comfortable enough around each other to cut the crap. Placing a hand either side of her shoulders, Ian took a step back to study the deep, dark bags underneath her eyes with, what some would argue to be, parental concern. " Trouble sleeping?"

Courtney noted the exhaustion encumbering his movement and offered Ian an accusatory look _"haven't we all?"_

Stepping aside to open up the doorway to his home, her boss let out a curt laugh "Yeah, you're not wrong there. You should see the state Olivia's in. I think she's downing her fifth coffee as we speak-"

At this Courtney's eyebrows raised considerably. " In that case, I better go talk to her before she gets her hands on your redbull."

Ian shut the door behind them whilst the blonde navigated through a narrow hallway which led to a generously sized living area with a conjoined open plan kitchen. No matter how many times she visited, it still took her a hot second to take in how incredible his place looked. Her conspicuous gawking was interrupted by a certain someone who was ravenously tucking into a bowl of chips" You know, being late used to be my thang." Keith remarked playfully. He gestured for her to come join him on the suede couch currently being occupied by Olivia and Noah. It was a tight fit but closeness, whether it be emotionally or physically, was what they all craved during the shitstorm wrecking havoc among their lives. Protruding elbows dug into her hip as she gracelessly squished herself into the seat.

"That looks cosy"  Shayne said from another two seater sofa beside a wilting indoor plant. Shayne could've sworn Ian hadn't watered that poor thing in well over a year. Laughing to himself, he tilted the camera of his phone upwards to snap a shot of the awkward scene. " You guys look like you're auditioning for a racially inclusive remake of friends." The entire group chuckled at this which enticed Ian to perch down on the arm of the sofa beside Shayne with a snort.

"Now _that_ would make a great video idea." The eldest mused. It was a relief seeing everyone's spirit lifted. He had to admit; alongside needing to film a video, that was the main reason why Ian called them all here. He owed Shayne big time." It goes without saying that Keith would be joey."

Upon the nodding of heads in agreement, Keith tutted, his mouth stuffed with Doritos " Mmmf-What y'all tryin' to say?"

Noah patted him on the back, a crescendo of his laughter echoing throughout the room. " In that case-It only makes sense for me to play chandler. Oh, and Olivia would suit Monica down to a T."

"Are you kidding me? Olivia **has** to be phoebe! I'm sorry, but 'Life's a party, you're a boy' and 'Smelly Cat' are no coincidence." Shayne chimed in, simultaneously pointing to a semi-offended/semi-entertained Olivia.

Intrigued by the prospect of her friend playing both the weirdo and the neat-freak of the characters, Courtney lent forward so that she was hunched over her knees amusedly. " Guys- who would you cast me as?"

Excitedly, Olivia bounced in her seat, henceforth causing the others next to her to bob up and down in an odd bodily Mexican wave. "Rachel,  _obviously_ \- But only if Shayne is Ross. We'd be doing the world an injustice if you guys weren't love interests." Both Noah and Keith shared a scheming look with Ian then proceeded to giggle like school girls in jest.

Courtney rolled her eyes at Olivia and facetiously shoved at her side. " You guys are so dumb! you're just as bad as the fans!" she irked. 

Shayne on the other hand, was spending all his energy on fighting off a subtle prickling heat that threatened to spread like small scale wildfire from his neck to his clearly visible cheeks. His body was acting on its own accord, just like at the party where he pummelled a wall for no valid reason. He knew they were only joking around, so he had no good reason to get touchy about it; After all, ships were a stable in Smosh's comedy. Shayne's recent hypersensitivity to things surrounding the subject of Courtney was _really_ starting to bug him _. Ah, right_ **-** by the time it had taken him to sort out his miniature brain fart, he had drawn a lot of attention to himself. Shayne prayed he was competent enough as an actor and comedian to direct their interest elsewhere "Anyways- _if you goons are finished_ \- I have the most accurate casting proposal yet… _ready?_

 **Ian as Gunther**."

The squad was in hysterics. " That's the best thing I've heard all day" Courtney marvelled whilst throwing her head back against the sofa to produce a chain of fervent laughs. Her rather flattering response caused Shayne to chuckle into the back of his hand, breaking into a warm smile as he too, joined in the chorus of chuckles and wheezes. Ian's neighbours were definitely going to submit a noise complaint or two after tonight.

Olivia took a break from giggling to bask in the insouciant atmosphere encompassing her. It felt good not to threat about the future- even if it was just for a moment. That's when her gaze rested upon Courtney and Shayne amidst the jocular carnage. Fuelled with endearment, she gestured to the pair of blondes sat opposite one another, taking extra care not to get caught. _'Come on...tell me they aren't Ross and Rachel'_ she mouthed to the remnants of the group who wore a communal expression of humorous understanding as they observed Courtney cry laugh and Shayne watch her do so with the fondest smile known to man. Now she couldn't speak on behalf of the others because it was hardly noticeable, but lets just say this wasn't the first occasion she saw Shayne tunnel vision Courtney with that tender expression. At first glance it seemed like admiration... but upon closer inspection maybe it went deeper than that. The only downside was, Olivia was almost certain he was completely and utterly oblivious to doing it or, for some unbeknownst reason, just in denial.  _Weird..._

For a well rounded, intelligible person, Shayne could be really freaking stupid sometimes... 

* * *

 

Time flew by once they all settled in to begin working. They managed to record a couple of videos in case they came out empty handed when valiantly attempting to salvage videos from their old parent company's confines and also, conceived a few other notions of games they could play for future content. In summery; it was a pretty productive afternoon which left Shayne, and everyone else for that matter, feeling energised. The sweet sensation of euphoria bestowed itself upon them in the form of each others company, which was a nice change from the days prior which were spent alone and apprehensive. It felt good to see, for himself, that Smosh was still a force to be reckoned with that absolutely refused to yield to the adversity it faced. Wrapping up the final details of his pitch for a Smosh pit video, Shayne sunk further back into the small spherical innards of a bean bag and let himself be gradually swallowed by the fuzzy material until only his limbs and face were visible to the naked eye. The likelihood of him ever re-emerging was slim. 

" Well- looks like your stuck in there for all eternity now." Courtney shrugged, imparting a look of false pity at his compromising position from a nearby swivel chair.

Noah dropped what he was doing to play along and dramatically gasped, bringing his hand down to rest upon his heart " But! doctor Millier- there must be something we can do to save him!"

The blonde hung her head in shame, searching the floor for a means to escape the cruel reality of the situation " I'm afraid not...he-hes's too far gone..."

Shortly after this, Ian, looking up from his phone, hopped in on the action " Alas, we must all try to move on. Your Uber is outside and If Shayne was still here... he wouldn't have wanted you to miss it." Ian said mournfully gesturing to the glorified cushion. 

" He would've also payed for it too..." Keith added with a sob as he wiped a tear from his eye.

 This caused the man in question to sit bolt upright akin to a member of the undead. " Actually, he really wouldn't" The recently deceased corrected urgently, rolling out from his beany grave and jumping to his feet in one grand demonstration of his core strength. This was Smosh at its finest. It was times like these when the squad felt as though they hadn't a care in the world, Just like the good old days... Shaynes coruscant grin drooped a little as he stopped to peer through the kitchen window at the Uber parked outside. _He wished this day  would never end..._ "This sucks."

The rest of the group gradually congregated around him and participated in the downcast activity, leaning their weight into one another trustingly and snaking hands comfortingly around each others backs. One distinctively gentle hand in particular, Shayne seemed to note, lightly held onto his arm, giving it an empathetic squeeze. Ian was the first to interrupt the weighted silence as they all collectively stared out at his front drive wordlessly " I know how you guys are feeling, _really I do_ , but you also must be able to sense it too right? How things were today...it _wasn't_ just getting back into the flow of things... it felt like the dawn of a new era for Smosh. Sure, things are different now, but maybe they've changed for the better. Think about it. We now have a chance to create a smosh that isn't just associated _with Anthony_ or _with Defy Media_ but a Smosh that's finally _ours._ I know the next few months are going to be tough but I _promise you..._ Amazing things will come out of this guys. You wait and see." 

Just as a tearful and equally moved Olivia was about to respond, the rightly vexed Uber driver honked his horn and sent shockwaves through the small crowd of actors.

They looked at each other startled. They then broke into uncontainable laughter. Dispersing from their tight-knit cluster, the group hurriedly raced to compose themselves, trying not to agitate their driver further and make the long journey home even more painful than it already would be. That was providing he wasn't going to drive away at any given moment.

" Go on- go on- I'll see you all soon-" Ian ushered as he shewed the Smosh squad out of his front door. Smiling to himself, he watched them enter their ride home with content expressions of reassurance and most importantly; _**hope**._

After the cars had disappeared from his line of sight, Ian stood stationary within in his porch, gazing up at the setting sun dipping behind the outline of the city his house overlooked.

 _Yeah, t_ _here was no doubt about it-_

As long as they had each other, Smosh's future was guaranteed to be bright one,

_He just knew it._

 

 

 

 


	5. Do You Remember?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ( Just a reminder that each chapter title is a song that follows the theme/content of said chapter)  
> This chapter: Do You Remember?- Jarryd James

**( Damien's apartment, a couple of days later )**

 

" I've tried. _I've_ _really tried,_ but everybody has a limit to how far their moderation can stretch. You know what? I'm seriously starting to consider going full Courtney-Freaking-Miller on your sorry arse. I stayed up until the **ungodly** hours of the morning to clear the last level of  _'_ pocket pals _; forest friends edition'_ only to find that I didn't save my progress... do you have any idea what that feels like? Didn't your parents ever teach you not to mess with a man who's at his wits end? Now hand it over!" At the unearthing of this tide turning factor in their duel, Damian stopped dangling the grapes over Shayne's head and gently set the punnet of premature raisins down on the arm of the sofa, defensively raising his arms above his head in an attempt to communicate his surrender. The two smosh members stood at arms length from each other in the centre of Damiens lounge. Either refused to yield as they valiantly fought against one another to obtain the only good source of food left in the house; because, as Shayne insistently kept reminding him, Damien was 'an atrocious host' who neglected his duties to feed his guests.

The whole exchange was ridiculously stupid and that's precisely why it provided a prime example of how they communicated with each other ninety-nine percent of the time. To condense it down into one sentence; like hyper-active oversized toddlers. Deviating from his previously conceived outlook on visiting Damien, which consisted of 'he couldn't think of anything more worse for him to do in his current condition',  the experience wasn't as harrowing as Shayne expected. In-fact, it was almost as if nothing had happened. _Almost._

Now, Damien thought it was best to clarify that it certainly wasn't atypical of him and Shayne to amuse themselves by conjuring up silly off-the-cuff style improv sessions out of mundane tasks, but Shayne seemed excessively devoted to his craft today, to the extent where the aggression in his voice was laced with a very convincing undertone of acrimony. This led him to entertain the possibility of Shayne's frustration possibly pertaining to something else beyond their joking around. _He did seem a little thrown off balance now that he mentioned it._

If that was indeed the case, he would _of course,_ willingly take on the responsibility of amending any mistakes he presumably had made. After all, the worst case scenario for Damien, in any situation, usually included somebody dear to him being hurt. It felt wrong of him not to confront Shayne when he suspected something was amiss, but just as a safeguard, the brunet wanted to provide a comedic distraction from whatever that might be. He trusted his friends judgement on not vocalising the matter, so for now he would respect his decision and do all that was within his power to ease the strain. Sooner or later Shayne would come to him when he felt he was ready, so casting all his frets aside, he commenced with his Oscar worthy performance.

Damian watched enough crime shows to realise the conditions were perfect; The nice elderly couple residing beneath his flat had gone on a minibreak to the Bahamas-which therefore meant nobody would hear his desperate cries for help if Shayne went full hulk on him( not like they really could anyway with their senile hearing but that wasn't the point). Whilst it pained him to admit it; he was at the mercy of his opponent. Not to mention probably laying in a pool of his own blood by the end of the evening if the absolute mad man before him didn't get his grapes. 

" H-hey buddy... I just wanna talk-" Damien stuttered in false trepidation as he backed away from what was soon to be a murder scene orientated around his own corpse. Amidst the process of withdrawal he was almost wiped clean off his feet by an inconveniently placed cat bed. His eyes skimmed over his surrounding in search for a means of escape alas, it was to no avail. Shayne may be considerably shorter than him but the man had the build of Popeye the sailor on steroids. Tearing off his limbs would pose about as much challenge as peeling a cheese string. _So much for a mobile method of getting out of this standoff_.

Shayne left him no choice but to resort to phase two, his most powerful attack; the almighty guilt trip. " Please-Think of the children! Sure, its kind of unnerving when they sit in the door way of the bathroom and refuse to break eye contact as you try to take a dump, but they do it out of _love_. Could you honestly sleep at night knowing that you rendered my beautiful babies fatherless? Have you no heart sir!?"

They stared at each other for several beats. Their withering glares unwavering. This preceded until Shayne inevitably crumpled into resounding laughter, henceforth breaking whatever impromptu character he was supposed to be embodying to collapse onto the sofa behind him. " Goddamit! How many times do I have to tell you man, cats don't count as children. Besides, What kind of dad names their kids _Freyja_ and _Zelda?_ " 

Also ditching the (inherently dumb) act, Damian screwed his facial features up in scepticism whilst nabbing a game cartridge from the proximate coffee table to slot inside his switch. " Umm? the kind of guy I wish was entrusted with naming me? You mean to tell me that you wouldn't abandon your entire family to be named Jonny and raised anew by a man with the surname Bravo? "

Shayne momentarily deadpanned at the wall in front of him. "-Without hesitation. You raise a good point."

The poorly crafted couch groaned beneath the combined weight of two fully grown men as Damien slouched down beside his guest. Humming a nondescript backing track to an indie game Shayne probably knew but wasn't invested enough to remember, the brunet logged into his nintendo account. Shayne studied the package of the grapes whilst the other dealt with the technicalities of his game console. This was a rather telling juxtaposition of their varying work ethic." First of all; these are a day out of date- and second of all; it was low of you to use your height advantage against me. Real low." Despite being expired, grapes were grapes and Shayne was still going to consume those little capsules of fruity goodness whether supermarket produce standards approved of it or not. But not without teasing Damien first.

The spritely theme tune of the game began emitting from the speakers positioned either side of the tv stand. Damien swatted dismissively in his friends general direction " Hey, let me have my couple of inches. Genetics were kind to you, _buddy_ , so you automatically aren't allowed to whine about the one thing you deem as a physical flaw."- A prime example of Damien's famous insult coated compliments. Shayne was pretty sure Damien was morally unable to be more than ten percent ill-tempered at any given point so this was just about as abrasive as it got with him. Their take on an 'argument' was classed as a childish squabble by anyone who owned a pair of operational eyes.

"But-"

"No buts you big ol' baby. _Although...._ I will admit that there _is something_ I am _vastly_ superior to you in. I'll give you a hint- It starts with _Smash_ and ends with _Bros._ "

Shayne gawked at the complete and utter baloney being uttered. " _Whoah, whoah, whoah,whoah, whoAH-_ hold on a cotton pickin' second. You know full well that I can pummel you into pixelated pulp as captin falcon. _"_

The other actor shrugged indifferently  " We'll see about that." Damien made sure to pre-select Shaynes least favourable map as their battle ground and then toss the spare remote controller onto his lap to obtain the element of surprise. One of the best things about their relationship was how it enabled him to be a competitive douchebag from time to time. 

" _Fine._ I needed more of a challenge anyways." fingers interlocked and palms outstretched towards the illuminated screen, The blonde began to pop the sockets of the tools which would undoubtedly lead him to victory. Activated by the impact of the thrown remote,  a low grumble erupted from his gut that managed to prove itself audible enough to be heard over the blaring music. _Dang, all that fighting talk is making me hungry._ Tossing a singular grape into his mouth, Shayne took a moment to delve into the capricious realm of his mind to reflect on and deeply appreciate how he was able to revert back into the natural swing of things with Damien despite his pre-existing... _concern_...about the whole... you know...Courtney predicament. Yeah, he still wasn't over what happened yet or able to make logical sense of why that was exactly, but somehow, by the miracle of some higher omnipotent being, he was able to conduct himself somewhat temperately around his friend. In his opinion, at a bare minimum, he deserved a pat on the back or better yet a _freaking_ medal for overcoming an obstacle as formidable as that one.

It was exhausting to constantly swallow down the urge to primal scream into someone's face but it was worth it for moments like this. Normality was the real forbidden fruit that he craved. Akin to the borderline manky grapes he was gulping down at an inhuman rate. Damien swore he hadn't actually witnessed the transit of the grape from the container to Shaynes gullet; just an insatiable blur of green. He also couldn't quite deduce whether the act entertained him or revolted him.The conclusion was quickly drawn that it was a healthy mixture of both.

" Ooo-that reminds me. Sorry to break it to you bud but I didn't actually buy those grapes just to cater to your questionable palate, so they might be a little dodge considering the fact I have to officially ration food now after defy obliterated my steady flow of income. " Thoughtfully, Damien looked down at his socked feet embedded within a fluffy faux fur rug. Following that momentary downcast gesture the man expeditiously perked up again, sending his elbow sailing into Shayne's side in a mischievous nudge."-You know... it's never too late to be roommates again... What? Don't look at me like that! _C'mon,_ Imagine all the grapes we could have!"

Shayne twisted himself to face Damien directly, eyebrows pinched together to crease his forehead " As much as that tempts me...I'm going to say that's a strong no. No offence but although those were some of the best years of my life, our combined bad luck when living together was atrocious. Like not worth it- _at all._ I still cant open my kitchen cabinet without picturing a swarm of flies gushing out and rubbing their tiny little hands all over my apartment."

Burying his nose and mouth in his hands protectively, Damien inwardly cringed at the memory. " Oh god don't take me back there."

Unfortunately, the roommate gag aside, he believed the part where Damien said he was struggling to maintain a flat in the city. It was expensive and he wouldn't be surprised if people living there considered resorting to selling their organs on the black market when times got tough. Shayne knew he was incredibly lucky to be in his position. He was the epitome of privilege; he had a wealthy family to fall back on and not to mention was a cis white male with no apparent disabilities... Getting to where he was today was an easier process for him than most. He recognised that and that's why he felt immense guilt when he heard about people suffering to make ends meet in the same industry as him. 

His head lowered dolefully at the idea of his friend being stuck in that kind of position." Listen, I'm sure you already know this, but if you ever need any help...financially... I-"

Damien placed a hand on Shayne's shoulder to stop his trail of speech much like how someone with sleep deprivation would slam their fist down on a snooze button. "We've been through this Shayne. _of course,_ I wouldn't doubt for a second that you'd swoop in to help any of your friends in a crisis, but I have everything under control. It's real sweet of you to offer but it's all good my man...even though I do sometimes spend my grocery budget on overpriced funko pops."  The brunet ended on an airy laugh and diverted his attention back to the diminishing supply of grapes. The guy was really too charitable for his own good. Exactly the type of person who, in a heart beat, would sacrifice his own happiness in trade for others. Hmmm... _T_ _hat made him wonder..._

" Oh yeah- the grape story. _I keep on getting side tracked-_ I actually managed to seize them as a memento from the office party's buffet. A small yet delicious reward for my supervising endeavours." Proudly smiling to himself, Damien reached for his controller again, wanting to scratch his itch to kick Shayne's butt in an epic measure of their gaming abilities. He'd had more than enough preparation for this during the free time temporary unemployment so graciously opened up within his schedule. However, _first and foremost_ , he had an ulterior motive to attend to." Where were you by the way? I don't remember running in to you _at all_ actually."

Shayne paled at the seemingly innocent query in relation to his whereabouts.Things were going suspiciously too smoothly so something was bound to catch him whilst he was off his guard. _He should've seen this coming a mile away_. So why hadn't he possessed the common sense to devise a cover story in foresight? _C'mon you bonehead, think!_ He scrambled through the mental clutter he fittingly labelled as his 'emergency excuse pile' before tossing out a semi-viable answer, in what he hoped to be a composed manner. " Yeah, _you know how it is man_ \- I was drained from the Goldberg's shoot so I just grabbed my pay check then turned back from whence I came. I'm telling you- I've never crashed so hard in all my life." On the bright side, at least the latter wasn't a complete lie. He missed being able to sleep without envisioning Damiens face leeched onto Courtneys like a feasting dementor _every time he shut his goddam eyes_. A pang of affliction shot through his body as he was, for the millionth time this week, transported back to that fateful night.

  _Great. **This again.**_

The muscles in Damiens body laxed at the confirmation he received. Albeit just simply wanting to meet with his dear friend today It was also vital to ensure that there was no possibility of Shayne ever becoming aware of him and Courtney. Asking him was a gamble he needed to take- one in which failure was thankfully not on the cards.

_Phew. **Crisis averted.**_

He wouldn't know what to do if Shayne found out. He already was riddled with guilt for keeping it a secret.They never kept anything from each other; It was the _bro-code_ set in stone by the many brethren who had come before them, _and he **tarnished** it_. It was a less than ideal position to be in and from an outsiders perspective he, candidly, did nothing to be ashamed of. In theory he should've been able to inform him with minimal to no collateral damage but because it was _Courtney?_ there was no way to predict which way Shayne could go. Damien was privileged enough to know him inside and out and for the first time in the history of their friendship he doubted in Shayne's ability to cope with stomaching the truth. He always kept a mental note of how Shayne differed when interacting with Courtney as apposed to the other squad members- it didn't seem to flag up anything at the time but now it gradually was forming a much clearer picture in Damien's mind, but then again, this was Shayne he was talking about. The guy had a knack for unwittingly misleading people so it was a pointless endeavour trying to figure him out when he couldn't even do it himself.

Moving on from the supposedly buried topic at hand, the appeased brunet hunched over in attempt to gain greater vision of the screen. He honestly couldn't decide if owning glasses were a blessing or a curse at this point. Selecting the start option at a click of a button, the round loaded up triggering shayne to hastily snatch up the second controller and shoot Damien a look of pure, unfiltered betrayal " That's playing dirty! I didn't get to finish my warm up!"

Damien mock-pouted at this, a hand daintily swung across his brow resembling a damsel in distress. "OooOOoo SomEBOdy HElp Me!  FOr my coNTRoller SMelLS." Sure enough, a swift stunt punch was soon sent sailing past his nose that stunned him briefly. _Okay, I kind of deserved that._

Five minutes of carpel tunnel inducing gameplay later and the boys dropped their controllers to the floor. Their mental exertion had somehow exceeded the limits of their brain and spread to fatigue their physical form. Shayne limply slid down the sofa, comedically feigning injury as Damien sprung up from his seat in triumph. The voice actor then leant over Shayne's flattened figure and beamed wildly. His broad shoulders eliminated any possibility of sunlight from reaching his vision. " Hey Shayne. Guess what?"

The blonde groaned and screwed his nose up in preparation for what was about to come. He could already see Damien resuming the position; two fingers pressed against his glabella in a weird mutation of a peace sign. " Don't say I-"

" **-LOOKS LIKE YOU NEED MORE TRAINING** "

A knock at the door interrupted Damien's victory ritual, prompting him to straighten himself out and cough into the back of his hand on reflex. His eyes enlarged to the size of saucers. _God he hoped his postman hadn't heard that._ Shayne's, quite frankly, fruitless method of subduing his laughter was by suffocating himself with one of the nearby pillows. Damien predicted he had approximately ten seconds until blacking out judging by his erratic muffled wheezing. "Well I'm glad someone is enjoying themselves because this is going to be mortifying"

Head in hands, Damien walked the green mile, his friend practically drunk on the humility of the situation behind him. Giddily, Shayne followed closely to engrain this, _priceless_ , interaction in his mind so that he could recall the account in great detail to the rest of the squad. He could just picture their reaction now. Upon approaching nearer to the door they both picked up on the tiny pitter patters of what they recognised to be dog paws. Shaynes amusement slowly morphed into increasing puzzlement as the other man began to twist the handle. _There was only one person_   _they knew who owned a dog in the vicinity._

_Wait a second-_

" _Courtney!?_   Oh, thank god its you!" Damien exclaimed, heavily relieved that he wouldn't have to explain his highly embarrassing behaviour to a stranger. Courtney was dressed head to toe in her running gear and accompanied by her panting faithful companion, better known as the greatest gift to all mankind; Jango. As the dog weaved between the blockade of legs standing between him and the sweet sensation of shade- The pair of them, both Damien and Courtney, indulged in an embrace which sparked the kindling of a small flame from within Shayne's chest. It flickered enviously at the greeting,  reactively growing to char his ribcage with a dark, immovable substance that Shayne refused to acknowledge as now being apart of him. His expression was forced into autopilot to showcase the remnants of what his composure had to offer. Believe Shayne when he said, at this stage, there wasn't exactly an abundance of it left. He could handle them both separately but _together?_   the concoction of unpleasant emotions now brewing and churning around his gut told him otherwise. 

From over Damiens shoulder, courtney blinked the sun out of her eyes in order to adjust her vision to scope out the dimly lit apartment. Her eyes settled on Shayne who she, didn't plan on bumping into but still, considered an added bonus to her visit. Smile radiating a warmth that thawed Shayne's frozen limbs, Courtney catapulted herself at him, armed with a hug that almost toppled them both over from the shear impact of it. Her arms slacked around his neck when the aftermath of the momentum she gained staggered them from side to side. It took Shayne mere seconds to tap into his muscle memory and instinctively latch onto her forearms to prevent her from collapsing into a heap of 'hoo hoo' on Damien's recently re-carpeted floor. The familiar gesture gave Shayne a pleasant case of Deja vu from the countless times Courtney had bowled herself into him as if he was a giant skittle. Thankfully she had never gotten a strike. He laughed all the while maintaining his blatant ruse which involved fondly rolling his eyes whilst uttering plentiful noises of complaint.

" Shaaaynneey boooy!" The blonde sang in her trade-mark ditsy voice. In the past he wouldn't have batted an eye at this kind of outgoing behaviour but in that moment it hit him a little differently. Although, that was probably at fault of the borderline-concussion Courtney just inflicted upon him. After the initial shock of her arrival began to dissipate from Shayne's system, it was soon replaced with a pressing question that blared like sirens within his head.

_Why on earth was she here?_

Assuming that she would've expected Damien to be alone.... _he wasn't sure if he wanted to find out..._

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 **** ****+

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just wanted to take a moment to express my gratitude to everyone who has commented on my work. Without your support, I most likely would've dropped this fic. 
> 
> Thank you for being my driving force and I hope you continue to enjoy Coping Mechanisms!


	6. What You Know

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> ( Just a reminder that each chapter title is a song that follows the theme/content of said chapter)  
> This chapter: What you know- Two Door Cinema Club

**( Damiens apartment )**

 

 

The fleeting moment of intimacy between them ended as quickly as it began when Jango, who had finally cooled off from the punishing heat rays that threatened to roast him like a hog, bounded up to Shayne and began pawing at his jeans. Tilting his head expectantly, his tail thrashed from side to side with great vigour. It had been a fair amount of time since Courtney had last brought her puppy to the smosh office. The (not so) little guy suffered from crippling separation anxiety to the extent where some days, if they had a particularly long shoot, she was forced to smuggle him in as a plus one. There were a copious amount of things occupying the actresses headspace nowadays so understandably, It had totally slipped Courtney's mind how much her dog worshiped Shayne. " Traitor." She muttered as her four legged friend began licking at Shayne's exposed hand that soon after obliged and reached down to pet his head. Honestly, it was adorable how the two of them mirrored their adoration for each other. But Courtney would never admit that aloud. She wouldn't give Shayne the satisfaction.

" I cant tell if Jango is mauling Shayne or Shayne is mauling Jango." The blonde laughed to Damien who watched on from the side-lines with resigned exclusion from the canine reunion. He shut the door and shivered inwardly as the dog licked a long slobbery stripe up a now beaming Shayne's cheek.

" Ew. Now do you see why I'm a cat person?"

Courtney gestured to her dog that had moved on to tackling Shayne to the floor "  C'mon it's endearing!"

" -It's gross. Cats are clean creatures who at least have the sophistication to respect personal space." The burnet watched in horror as Jango began nuzzling the crook in Shayne's neck with his wet nose that glistened underneath a lamp that balanced precariously on the edge of a table one of them was bound to knock into. Courtney doubled over. Her insuppressible laughter winded her whilst Shayne squirmed and dodged around her dogs snout that keenly sniffed and nudged at the most ticklish parts of his body.

"Good boy Jango!  get him- that's it- Right in the ear!" the owner of the savage beast implored over the sound of her friends deafening fit of giggles.

" _Oh god it tickles_ \- nonono- stop! aah.. hahaha! AHAHA!"  Evading Jangos masterful attacks was, granted, a lot harder than it looked but Shayne fortunately had the leverage of hands of which he used to scoop up the pooch in his arms and unsteadily get back onto his feet. It now took two hands and supplementary support from his torso to incapacitate the beast. Shayne was taken aback by this, seeing as the last time he recalled playing with Jango he could rock him in the dip of his arm like a baby. "What has Courtney been feeding you? goddam _plant fertilizer?_   jeez"

The four of them gradually migrated over to Damien's circular dining table of which only had three stools slotted haphazardly underneath. It was obvious that Damien wasn't exactly keen on being the venue for parties or any grand social occasion. His house was tailored to his needs only; as any well designed home should be. However, Sticking true to his selfless nature, despite those facts he still invested in extra furniture in the case of a surprise visitation such as this. After all, he wanted people to feel as comfortable as he did within his humble abode.

Courtney sat beside Shayne who had been fashioned into a bodily cushion by Jango. " Hey- why don't you like my lap?" she pouted at face level to her dog. Jangos response to this heartfelt query was a swift apologetic lick to her nose followed by curling up on Shayne's thighs for a well warranted rest. Shayne smirked smugly at this act of defiance and blatant favouritism.

" Oh _shut-up_. Its only because you used to sneak him treats underneath the desks at the office." Courtney's hand connected with Shayne's bicep in a waggish attempt at a reprimanding slap as Damien simultaneously perched down to join them at the table. He shook his head at their routine antics, having learnt not to intervene and just to appreciate the free entertainment.

Shayne let his gaze roam about the room distractedly. His eyelashes fluttering innocently in response to the accusation. " I have _no idea_ what you're talking about."

Eyeing him knowingly Courtney huffed and slumped forward onto the cold marble surface of the counter. She flinched at the icy reception but was too achy and sore to relocate, instead she opted for a prolonged whining noise that perked Jangos pointy ears. " Ugghh...I regret sprinting that last mile...."

" You make it sound like you just hurdled oncoming traffic" Remarked Shayne who was far to engrossed in cradling her dog to really pay attention to what was being said.

"- and got hit by a ten ton truck that reversed over you again for good measure" Damien added, serving Courtney the finest beverage he could rustle up; tepid tap water.

" Thanks man. Oh shoot-that's right! I almost forgot-" She scooted her stool outwards so that she could momentarily squat to fumble with a strangely familiar looking flannel that was adhered to her waist. Sprawling the item of clothing out on the table before her she quickly folded it up and bulldozed it across to Damien with her palms. This action encaptured the entirety of Shayne's attention. All the dogs in the world wouldn't be able to cure the surging apprehension now coursing through his blood. "- _also_ I figured you'd be wanting your jacket back." _Brilliant_. Now they were wearing each others clothes? Going off his current track record of luck they should be married within a week.

" Don't mention it Court. It was my gentlemanly duty to step in when I saw the early stages of hypothermia starting to set in." Damien laughed with a dramatic bow. " It was real sweet of you to drop it off but there was no hurry. I definitely haven't been missing it during this draught- you could've even keep it if you wanted to." Thank heavens Shayne was being pinned down by Jango, otherwise he would've flipped the goddamn table.  _Are you kidding me?_ The longer Shayne listened the more and more he wanted to pull a Vincent van gough and hack his ears off with a nearby butter knife that was really beginning to look tempting. Courtney wafted her hand dismissively, giving the bundle of fabric a farewell pat. " Nah, I was planning on passing through here on my run anyways, so it wasn't any bother. Besides, I actually also wanted to talk to you about the party-" 

"YEah- it was great wasn't it! I hear Marie and Flitz ended up staying there for the full night. Props to them." The visibly startled brunet abruptly intervened, earning a weird look from Courtney. He knew full well that wasn't what she meant. The woman searched Damien's expression for some sort of clue as to what he was hinting at. It took a subtle horizontal shaking of damiens head for the subliminal message to finally click.  _Oh? So he hadn't told Shayne?_   She figured that would've been the first thing Damien did. On the contrary, he looked like he'd rather take a bullet to the skull then disclose that kind of information at the table the three of them were sharing. _So what was the plan now?_   _just tip toe around the events of the party until the subject seamlessly dissolves into another equally interesting topic of conversation?_ Courtney was a talented liar but that didn't necessarily mean she found pleasure in doing so. She distinctly remembered making a pact with Damien the night of the party to avoid this kind of hassle. The only other people that were allowed to know were Shayne and Olivia as both Damien and Courtney were positive that  their nearest and dearest friends would eventually  pry into where they disappeared to and lying to them would be a laborious chore neither were up to doing. Well, that's what she thought anyways. 

" That's hardly surprising considering how talented they are as dancers. I wouldn't've had the stamina to make it till the end of the first song." The blonde responded light heartedly, reaching over to Shayne to stroke jangos earthy two-toned fur." However, one thing I did do was eat through several plates of Sarah's mini quiches. They tasted like if Chris pratt was a baked good"

" Oh I bet they did." Shayne added doubtfully. He was unable to control the small amount of sarcasm seeping between his words as they rolled off his tonge. Part of him was relieved at their reluctance to talk about what really happened. He was, quite frankly, at breaking point regarding the subject. He was sleep deprived, delirious and above all- needed a distraction from the unidentified force preventing him from looking at Courtney in the eye as she spoke. Oh how he desperately wished for his stool to have a hidden ejector seat for him to sky rocket himself into the earths upper atmosphere. Shayne may have overestimated his own tolerance to the sensation burning up his throat like bile ready to be spewed out for all to witness. That was an unwanted analogy for a unwanted feeling. One Shayne wished to purge out of his system. The most terrifying thing of all was the fact he had no idea what to call it. Or if he ever experienced anything to rival its severity before. The way this...feeling made him act was reckless and downright stupid and he wanted it gone alongside the topic of the party.

Courtney blinked at the edge to Shaynes tone but put it down to his fatigue. " Didn't you get to try any? I wish I'd bagged some whilst I had the chance" 

" Nah, I had a crazy long day so I was way too spent to brave the after party." Jango gazed up at him intently as if he fully understood the falsehood Shayne was spewing. This was followed by a small pitiful whining noise. That alone was enough to make him feel bad for lying to his mistress.

" Oh... that's strange. Olivia told me that she bumped into you at reception but then again- she was _trashed,_ so in retrospect her account of events don't seem especially reliable." A small circle of laughter began around the table.

" That's the biggest understatement of the century. Towards the end of the evening she began making conversation to a cardboard cut out of Ian." Damien informed Shayne, wiping a tear from his eye- " You should've seen it man- she threw her drink at him when he didn't respond-" 

Courtney was bent over the table, struggling to breathe through her mirth. " And- and then his head went all soggy and flopped back and she started _crying,"_ Shayne couldn't help but chuckle at the scene unfurling in his head, although, the majority of his attention was understandably occupied by Courtney's coscu smile. The strobes of light peeking through Damiens partly drawn cutains perfectly framed her in that moment. Brightness skated effortlessly across her upper cheeks and graced the green of her eyes as she threw her head back to suck in a breath of air. Her lips parted in attempt to exhale but were interrupted by the corners curling into yet another endearing show of amusement. It was as though Shayne had been passing the same piece of artwork everyday but only now allowing himself to stop and admire it. Sensing the momentum dipping in the conversation, it occurred to him that he probably should interlude from his one sided staring contest and check on Jango who was sleeping soundly upon his legs. He carded a hand through the mop of hair laying messily against his forehead (That he _would've_ styled if he knew he was going to bump into anyone besides Damien today) as he used his free hand to gently smooth over jangos ruffled fur in the same manner. 

Breaking the halcyon air to the room was none other than the obnoxious ringtone Shayne expertly crafted for Damien, which naturally ensued several seconds of guttural:

**< aaaaaaaaaaaaAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH->**

After nearly suffering a fatal injury via toppling backwards off her stool, Courtney shot Shayne a denunciating look to which he responded with a shit eating grin. Damien exhaled deeply " Its a long story" then proceeded to get up and answer his phone that was emitting that god awful sound from somewhere within the kitchen. " Hey! how's it going Mari-" was the first and last of the conversation the two blondes eavesdropped before Damien retreated to his bedroom. 

When he returned a fair few minutes later they both enquired into if everything was alright and, withholding the information he was just told for Shaynes sake, Damien assuaged them of their curiosity by assuring them everything was fine and picked up the conversation where they left off, trying his best to conceal the acute perplexment he was experiencing.

_Okay, so maybe Olivia's alleged Shayne sighting was more veracious than he originally thought..._

 

* * *

 

 

**( an hour later, Damiens apartment)**

 

Damien leant his weight back into the door until he heard the satisfactory click of the strike pallet slotting into place. " and then three became two.." he cantillated whilst looking over at Shayne, who was currently preoccupied with watching Courtney and Jango disappear down the flight of stairs that lead to the exit of the building.  

" You think we should've walked her home or something?"

" Shayne. Courtney's a fully grown woman with her own personal guard dog. I think she can handle a twenty minute jog back to her place." 

" I know, its just that its getting dark out. The last thing she needs is to be mugged on top of being unemployed." Shayne stated factually, although his voice was laced with levity. His genuine concern for her wellbeing never failed to bring a wholesome smile to Damien's face even despite his attempts to play it down with wit. Judging from the way Shayne clowned around with Courtney most of the time, he would've guessed she was none the wiser to his painfully palpable soft spot for her. However, this reoccurring lack of communication was a two way street. It was infuriating to watch as a bystander.

" I suppose with our track record of luck, being overly cautious is very understandable" The brunet scoffed. On the brighter side-now that Courtney was gone, he finally could confront Shayne about how veridical he was in describing his whereabouts on the night of the party. " So buddy, you remember that call I got from Mari?"  he said whilst focusing on the worn welcome mat at his feet.

Shayne distractedly returned a " Uh-yeah, how is she doing by the way?" 

"No better than the rest of us, but good. Actually, its funny you should mention that- because she was calling to ask if _you_ were okay. Apparently you weren't picking up which I guessed was due to you leaving your phone on silent."

Shayne's interest was peaked at this point, he patted his back pocket and let out a curt laugh " You seriously cant expect me to risk having that ringtone playing during my Goldberg's shoots. Imagine having **that** as a reason why you got fired." Damien comedically grimaced at the notion but then pressed onwards.

" _Anyways-_ She specifically wanted to know how your _food poisoning_ was coming along. You know-

because that's what you told her you had when you were **leaving the party**." 

The blonde now jerked away from the window to fully to face his friend, mouth hanging open fruitlessly. It was evident he was nervous by the way he combed his hands through his hair like he was trying to scalp himself. Damien had known him long enough to identify his tell-tales from the truth. "I think your old pal Damien deserves an explanation, don't you?"  The brunet hummed, purposely ensuring his tone of speaking was playful. From his own experience with Shayne, he knew the guys natural inclination when discussing something serious was always to sit and listen. He was selfless to the degree where he was prepared to stifle his feelings for the greater good of others. Damien was under the impression that this didn't have to apply to him. They were practically brothers at this point.

" Look, you know I don't care if you wanted to actually enjoy yourself instead of baby sitting our drunken colleagues, right?" Damien laughed, his friendly persona reinforcing the credibility of his words.

" Of course I do! and I genuinely wanted to help out because it would've been _freaking hilarious_ to look back on after this whole fiasco blows over, but I got....distracted by something. or should I say _someone_." Clearing his throat,  his eyes shifted focus between Damien and various furnishings of the room.

The voice actor nodded encouragingly as an indicator for him to elaborate. "Go on.."

Shayne made a strangled noise of complaint, feigning banging his head against the wall. _He couldn't keep lying to Damien. It was exhausting._ " Look- it was Courtney. I went to go find her because everyone else was either too intoxicated to walk in a straight line or completely overcome with rage and throwing ceramics at the wall like primates." Now it was Damien's turn to be drained of all the colour in his face. He willed himself to interject somehow but he failed miserably. Instead he opted to place a hand gingerly down upon his friends shoulder, in effort to urge the continuation of his account. This was officially morphing into the worse case scenario but Damien knew his friends wounds, no matter how sore, needed the opportunity breathe. " but-" The blonde began, pausing to sip in a short burst of air "... you got to her first."

" So...you saw us-?"

" Yep."

"Were you also the one who made that gaping whole in the-?"

"Yep."

"Wow, okay... I wasn't expecting that."

" Neither was I at the time." Shayne pinched his brow between his fingers and moved away from the wall. Hazily choking out a laugh, his head reeled from the explicit memory. "I honestly don't know what came over me. Its stupid. I'm stupid."

Damien's expression softened slightly as he gave him a reassuring pat. " Dude you're not stupid, you just seriously suck at bottling up how you feel. Then again so am I, because I wasn't exactly well educated in my decision to try and sweep what happened under the metaphorical rug; I cant even begin to imagine the hell you've been dragged through because of me trying to 'protect' you."

Shayne stepped back, physically (and mentally) at the unearthing of this. " Wait..What? why? I literally don't have anything to do with you and Courtney getting together. In what, way, shape, or form would that effect me?" his steel blue eyes hardened in the purest form of cluelessness. Damien had to bite back a rather insensitive ' _are you actually kidding me!'_   reminding himself that Shayne was the smartest person he knew and was bound to come around sooner or later. He just had to be patient.

 _"_ Shayne. Courtney and I aren't together and never had any intention of ever being together. Do you honestly believe I'd do that to you?" Sure, Damien was well aware that Shayne was as lost as a sheep in a cotton wool factory when it came to recognising the level of a affection he felt towards Courtney but- to think Shayne was under the impression he would do anything to prevent that; it kind of stung. The blonde went quiet for a few beats, casting his vision across to one of Damien's cats of which now sat on the sofa watching them with curious wide eyes. As much as he yearned for the strength to deny it, his friend raised a good question. It made sense without making sense at the same time.

" Then why did you kiss her." the blonde stated simply, his voice taciturn enough to be engulfed by the sparseness of the room. He felt as though he was finally admitting something. It must've been humiliatingly transparent because Damien yanked him forwards into a hug without a second to spare. Shayne was momentarily stunned by the unforeseen gesture. 

It was an unspoken law around Smosh that Courtney and Shayne were, without intending to objectify either of them, 'reserved' for each other. Well, at least until they decided to do something about the unrelenting respective pining that was driving everyone in a five feet radius of them clinically insane. Releasing Shayne from his vice like grip, The brunet looked at his friend, his smile a concoction of proudness and apology. "When I say that it was a spare of the moment thing; I really mean it. The kiss was merely a product of us being in the same room at the same time and feeling in over our heads about loosing the people we trust. There was no romantic intention behind it whatsoever. If anything we were just desperate to grab onto someone before, they too, left the party and our lives. We found security together, _then boy,_ did we piss ourselves about it afterword's. To summarise; we kissed because we were scared. Our motives in doing so where none other than a quick fix of familiarity. _I promise you._ "

" _Oh."_ Shayne swallowed. That...strangely made a great deal of sense to him. Neither of them portrayed a amorous disposition when conversing with each other; not before the downfall of Defy and not today. Per usual, Damien was right and Shayne looked like a damn fool. Relief came to him in absence of the weight shackled to his lungs. For the first time in a long time he could _breathe_. _Things could finally revert back to normal._ Shayne couldn't help but channel his thought process into a small albeit thoroughly pleased grin " _Thank god._ Now that's over and done with-"

His friend eyeballed him dubiously " I think we both know that isn't true."

So much for putting the subject to rest." _Oh come on._ Can we _please_ just drop it?"  

" _Drop what Shayne?_ " Damien mocked. Just this once he was going to be stubborn. With all the evidence in the bag he couldn't turn a blind eye to the universal truth now staring him in the face; enough was enough. Shayne was due a reality check and Damien had a duty to deliver it.

The other male huffed dismissively. In one swift motion he drew the curtains to a close to busy himself. "I honestly have no idea what you're talking about."

" - _and_ _I honestly have no idea what you're **so afraid of**_.  Look, We've known each other for years and I've never seen you this torn up about someone before. You're _smitten_ for crying out loud! It was written all over your face today-"

" You're insane." Shayne scoffed, his arms knitting together amusedly. 

" Admitting it to yourself, believe it or not, wont cause the world to explode ya know? Imagine if it hadn't been me with Courtney that night- if she found someone who had romantic intentions and was in a relationship as we speak. How would that make you feel?"

Rolling his eyes languidly, Shayne rag dolled onto the sofa adjacent to him, limbs sprawled out into a comedic Christ pose " Damien. As much as I appreciate you looking out for me, you're not my therapist. Me and Courtney will never be anything more than friends. _You_ know it, _I_ know it and _she_ knows it." The downfaced actor muffled through the patchy fabric smelling faintly of spilt coffee.

" I wouldn't be so sure on the latter, pal." This triggered Shayne to prop himself up on an elbow to face Damien; eyes hungering after the bait just given. Something about the coy smile on the voice actors face told him that he knew more than he let on. " You wanna know the first thing she said after we kissed?"  His expression sobered from the previous jocular façade into something more dishonestly disinterested. Damien was enjoying this newfound power dynamic too much for his liking.

" I don't really-"

" -She asked me where **you** were." The brunet smiled warmly as he watched his friends guard melt away into thin air. 

Shayne practically froze as the words were cascaded over him like a bucket of iced water. "...She did?"

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry Its been a hot second since I've updated, chapters should be coming more regularly now my schedule has calmed down. As always, thank you for sticking with my fic and feel free to leave your thoughts in the comments. :)


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